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Facebook stops removing claims that COVID-19 is man-made

Facebook announced it would no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured, citing ongoing investigations into the virus's origin and consultation with public health experts. The reversal came amid renewed public debate over the lab-leak hypothesis; the same day, President Biden announced he had directed the intelligence community to redouble its efforts to investigate COVID-19's origins. Twitter said it had no policy updates to share, and YouTube stated that origin claims did not violate its policies.

Primary quotes

Other
“In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured from our apps.”

Facebook spokesperson, May 26, 2021

Linked sources

An Update on Our Work to Keep People Informed and Limit Misinformation About COVID-19 (Facebook)
Tier 1 · other · Running policy page; Feb. 8, 2021 section documents the 'man-made' claim ban, May 26, 2021 section its reversal
Facebook no longer treating 'man-made' Covid as a crackpot idea (POLITICO)
Tier 3 · news · Contemporaneous reporting on both the Feb. 2021 ban and the May 26, 2021 reversal

Related contentions

COVID-19 origins

IC split historically; CIA (Jan 2025) shifted to low-confidence lab-lean. No definitive public resolution.

Did government pressure turn platforms into state censors?

Unresolved. The Supreme Court disposed of Murthy v. Missouri on standing grounds without reaching the merits, so no court has finally decided whether the 2021 government-platform contacts crossed from persuasion into unconstitutional coercion. Congressional investigations and platform disclosures continue, and the line between legitimate government speech and unlawful jawboning remains actively contested.